All Forum Posts by: Richard McCarthy

Good points Mike.

Raymond- I don't think it would even come close. Im thinking like 1600-1700, but I'm not sure what houses in my subdivision are actually renting for. I just know there are more expensive homes being bought by investors and rented out on the same street. Either way 1700 would cover my mortgage plus a some cash flow. Why would I need to get 2300 on a 230,000 home. Is that kinda a general rule when looking at a place you want to rent??

An other note.. The idea of working with my wife's uncles is appealing.. Reading some of the advise given on flipping. perhaps this is a way that we can get more capital at the begging while we continue to save. They both seem to be strongly active in the Real-estate game. One is retired and has all the time in the world as well as a few duplexes. The other has a privet small successful Business as well as a good cash flow producing duplex. Both in the last two years have mad some smart profitable flips happen. One was a more who you no situation that I contribute more to luck then anything but man was in profitable. So, any way I'm thinking working with them might be a good idea and a great way to learn.. any thoughts?

Mike G - good point.. but concerning. It seems so unlikely as a novice investor that i can compete with other at finding the kinda long term deals that would really pay off.. any thoughts on that?

Thank you all so much for responding. You all gave great advise. I'm thinking about Joining the a real estate investment club in Austin when I get back from Afghanistan.. Think it will help my gain some more good insight before taking the leap. Any thoughts on that? Im open to the Flipping just seem like something I need to learn a lot more about. you know you work so hard to get to a point were you have money saved up I would hate to learn the hard way a lose money.

Jeff, Thanks for you response. I agree with you about making the choice. I feel like I'm more interested in passive investing for sure.. I just don't have the confidence at this time to flip. how ever my wife's uncles are doing well with flipping houses currently and my wife is interested in investing with them to make some start up money. Im nerves about the idea. The main point is we both need to keep talking about this and come up with short a lonf term goals I think.

Jean & lynn. You know my wife and I almost bought a very similarly price duplex to that of our current home. I think it would have made for a good way to start off. but we ultimately decided that with me being gone as often as I am it the military it was just not far to my family to put them in a project home.. I just simply did not have the capital to pay some one els for repairs or the time to do the work my self. I could see investing in multifamily at some point in the future though, just not as a live in. I like knowing when I'm away that my family is living as comfortably as I can afford for them to live. My wife also work full time for the city of Austin and takes care of our son so her time is much to valuable I think to have dealt with any tenet issue at that time.

Witch brings me to another point I guess, perhaps we are not really ready to spend the time and effort it would take to flip at this point. Unless we used my wife's uncles as a resource for time.

Brain - I could not agree with you more about the potential cost involved in landloarding and the importance of having reserve Cash. I'm happy to read about how we are working on similar plans thanks for the post.

Matt - I'm defiantly going to check out the link you sent thank.

Suzie - I'm still working out the acronyms SFH??? I enjoy working on houses a lot too. when I have leave from the army I'm alway helping my body, general contractor on his projects. the feeling you get after the work is done is very rewording. The only issue is I don't normally have the kinda time to do hole renovations my self. Although I feel I could and poses a good amount of skill and knowledge. As far as renting our house goes. There are no home owner policy in l place preventing rental and in fact the house next door is rented as well as a few other I'm aware of. The previous owners had to move quick and sold way under market value an investor snatched it up quick and found tenets very quickly and I'm sure there is Cash Flow being generated. How ever I'm not 100% clear on the VA loan policy. If I'm not mistaking I think I would have to get it out from underneath the VA. I payed 0% down on the house using the VA so I'm not sure what all the would in-tale. Further information on this subject would be very much appreciated. Just so you all no the house in in South Park meadows Austin 78748 area code. That should give you an idea of the current market value I'm assuming. The interesting think is the subdivision is not complete so they are still building homes. The houses the are building however are not Buffington Signature homes and actually based on my observation a slightly less quality style of home the buffington offers. How ever they are still selling for at or more what I payed per sq ft. witch I think is good for us tight? I'm not sure if that means we would be better off selling or holding though.

Again thanks and I look forward to reading more.. helps pass the time While I'm over here.

Basically I need help coming up with a game plan..

Ok, so here is it. First I want to say that I love this web site.. Second "My situation" My wife and I got married about 5 years ago and neither of us were very finitely savvy so after we go married we bought a house in Austin TX, a 3 bed 2 bath 2100 sf buffington signature home in a new nice naborhood. We payed about 230,000 for and like typical young couple when out and charged up the credit card to fill it up with furniture. Then our beautiful baby boy came along a year later.. So we tacked on a little more debt to the pile.. well its took 3 years a few deployments with the army and my wife and I going to a Dave Ramsey course out on at our church to finally get our priorities straight, and now we are really starting to look good financially. Almost out of debt minus the house and Truck note.. The great thing is that now we are in a position to start building a significant amount of savings. With we plan on doing. So I came to this web site thinking about the future and the nest step for us, TO INVEST! :)
So here are a few concerns I have. First, I want to keep as much of our money in the bank and still invest as possible. Second. I am tent to be thinking more long term Landlord ship in vesting. My wife how ever is thinking about flipping houses. I keep reading everywhere that you don't need money to invest, but I'm not really sure what that means. Seller financing seem to make sense to me. but I don't get the details behind it.. Im thinking that in a few years we can rent the house that we are in and move into a new house. but its a VA loan and I'm not at all sure how that will work.. So I really need some over all advise.

Based on my current thinking this would be my plan..
over then next year put away 30,000 keep that as my back up emergency fond.
Then over the next year put away another 30,000..
That would be my investment money..
I would think the best thing to do. Is to go get pre-approved for a 100,000 then start shopping around for a property to buy with the intent of putting 20% down. while hoping to move a renter in that covers the mortgage with a little cash flow of the top of that. Then just work on paying that house off so I can get the hole rent as cash flow.. While saving up to do it again the next year and the year after..

Is that basically one way to do it? Is it a dumb way to do it? What are the better ways to do it.. I don't want to wast money or time. I want to use that 30,000 as strategically as I can.. I want to have a clear plan by the time I get that money in that bank..

I'm really looking for a " if I was in your shoes response to this post".
Let me know if that not enough information.
Thanks.